Tell us your story … Tell us your goal

Share your Health, fitness, sports performance story! Use the Hashtag: TAstories in an Instagram post. Get creative. The best story will be picked by the Training Aspects team plus 3 outside people and … The Instagram people.

#TAstories step 1.

Make a video or picture(s) for an instagram post. Make sure to Tag Training aspects in the post and add the #TAstories to the description. You may post as many times as you would like! to get some examples click on #tastories and there are already a few examples available. There is no limitation, Whether you are looking to lose weight, need help making a sports team or just want to be healthy for your family. Whatever your story, share it! #TAstories is open to all.

#TAstories Step 2.

We will repost them on the Training Aspects instagram. The top 3 stories that get the most attention(Likes commnets, engagmnet) will be picked.

#TAstories Step 3.

The top 3 winners will meet with us in person for the final interview. The job of the winner will be to document (post on instagram) their 4 month journey to accomplishing their goal. We will also, ask (only the actual winner) for a financial deposit that will be returned at the end of the 4 months.

The fitness industry has so many trainers, products, equipment, techniques and often makes personal training to be a luxury or a service thats used here and there. We want to show the experience of a dedicated training client. If you pick the right training program and you truly commit to learning and practice patients you can change your life! Training is not just about losing weight but truly feeling confident in your movement, your appearance and the way you feel. Like anything great it takes time and work. Move, Look, Feel as you’ve always desired!

Training Aspects’ personal trainers and sports performance coaches want you to accomplish your goals. You, as the personal training client, are a reflection of our personal training and group training methods! We are here to help you accomplish all of your personal training goals! Our main training focus are people looking to increase performance, lose weight , lose body fat and increase lean muscle. Whether you live in Cherry Hill, Haddonfield,Marlton, or any of the other surrounding areas we are here to help you Move, Look and feel as you’ve always desired…

Corrective Ways to Improve Ankle Mobility Part 1

There are many techniques that may help improve your ankle mobility. Manual muscle release, self myofascial release, stretching, mobilizations, muscle activations and integrations to name a few. Let’s break down techniques and how to implement them to get the most effective results.

Myofascial Muscle Release

What’s a Release?

When we overuse certain muscles they can develop tight spots (trigger points). These trigger points can start to create pain. The goal of myofascial release is to apply pressure to these trigger points until they release.

Types

The two most popular types, manual and self releases. Manual releases involves another person, usually a physical therapist using their hands to release the muscle. Self releases involve a release tool like a foam roller or softball and the person performing the release for themselves.

How It Can Help

By applying the pressure to these trigger points it will start to loosen and allow the muscle to properly lengthen. Once the muscle is properly lengthened you can efficiently move on to the next steps like mobilizations and stretches.

Joint Mobilizations

What’s a Mobilization?

Many of our joints become stiff over time from not moving enough or having poor movement habits. Joint mobilizations increase mobility through isolated body movements that target specific joints. These mobilizations can only be performed optimally following muscle release. The releases will allow for proper length of the muscle leading to increased mobilization.

How It Can Help

Joint mobilizations help improve mobility of the joint, once that is achieved you can start improving movement patterns while exercising. It will also help you re-pattern these important joint movements back into your brain so they become habit. These habits will lead to less pain and injury.

Stretching

The regular outlook on Stretching?

Stretching feels great! However, being too flexible is just as bad as not being flexible. If the body is unable to move a certain way and you continue to push to push it past the limit. You may not realize that your body may have a restriction. Instead of the stretch being effective it’s actually stretching something totally different then planned.

When to Stretch?

Stretching is most beneficial after incorporating the above 2 techniques. Releases and mobilizations allow for the muscles to be properly lengthened. This is when stretching is most beneficial and can actually lengthen the muscle.

How It Can Help

Properly lengthening the muscles can put the joints and muscles into proper position allowing for strengthening exercises to be more beneficial and less likely to injure you!

Check back next week to get the continuation and second part to this article, it will include videos on how to improve.

Training Aspects’ personal trainers and sports performance coaches want you to accomplish your goals. You, as the personal training client, are a reflection of our personal training and group training methods! We are here to help you accomplish all of your personal training goals! Our main training focus are people looking to increase performance, lose weight , lose body fat and increase lean muscle. Whether you live in Cherry Hill, Haddonfield,Marlton, or any of the other surrounding areas we are here to help you Move, Look and feel as you’ve always desired…

Signs You Need to Improve Ankle Mobility

On a run, feeling great, out of no where there’s a weird pain in your ankle/knee. The usual response “oh it will work itself out,” just push through it . After the run calves are tight or maybe the dull pain comes back. You can barely walk the next day but you say “what a great run! I can really feel it.” Although it may feel like your making great progress (you know the all wise saying.. if you’re not sore you didnt do anything) these could actually be signs of something that is hindering your performance and adding up to a potential injury.

Sign of Ankle Dysfunction 1: Pain in Ankle, Knee, Hip

Pain is the most obvious sign that something is wrong. However, pain in your knee doesn’t necessarily mean the issue is your knee. Pain is a puzzle piece, the issue is the puzzle! Pain can make its way up to the knee and even the hip if the ankles are too stiff. Any time we walk, run, or jump the impact starts at the foot and ankle and then works its way up the chain. If the ankle lacks the mobility to absorb the shock of the impact it can send the shock up the chain to either the knee or hip. Leading to the knee or hip joint to overwork and compensate for the lack of mobility at the ankle leading to pain.

Sign of Ankle Dysfunction 2: Feet Turn Out

This is a big indicator that something is off. Even if you don’t feel pain, yet, with your feet turning out, it can be a sign of an injury brewing. Feet turning out is typically a sign of overactive calves and an under active anterior tibialis (shin area). If you have ever had shin splints this is one of the reasons why. This imbalance of the muscles of the lower leg causes the feet to not be able to dorsiflex properly. Lack of dorsiflexion doesn’t allow for proper force absorption when landing while running or jumping. This will also lead to the knees collapsing inward creating a lot of unwanted force at the knee joint. Repeat that motion over and over again and you have an injury waiting to happen.

Sign of Ankle Dysfunction 3: Your Calves are Always Tight

If your calves are sore or tight after eachworkout, there may be something wrong. This tightness or soreness can lead to the problems described above, starting with your feet turning out and then eventually pain and injury. So be careful when going by the “feeling the burn” or “no pain no gain” theories. Though you must challenge your muscles to progress, soreness is not always a sign of positive growth.

Stay tuned for next weeks article, tips on how to correct basic ankle dysfunction.

Training Aspects’ personal trainers and sports performance coaches want you to accomplish your goals. You, as the personal training client, are a reflection of our personal training and group training methods! We are here to help you accomplish all of your personal training goals! Our main training focus are people looking to increase performance, lose weight , lose body fat and increase lean muscle. Whether you live in Cherry Hill, Haddonfield,Marlton, or any of the other surrounding areas we are here to help you Move, Look and feel as you’ve always desired…

Function and mobility of the ankle

The ankle, one of the smaller joints but bears a huge load. 1.5 times yourweight is being applied when you are walking or standing, and eight times your weight when running. The ankle is a hinge joint The three bones, the tibia the fibula and the talus come together with articular cartilage in between. The cartilage allows the bones to move against one another smoothly and acts a shock absorber. Although the ankle is only made up of three bones, it is one of the most commonly injured parts of the human body.

Many do not have adequate ankle mobility. From a movement stand point, decreased joint mobility at the ankle joint or tibiofibular joint. When walking, running, skating, squatting, picking something up, ankle mobility can be the difference between moving properly and getting injured. It’s like Jenga, if the blocks are built over a strong foundation, the game continues. Once the base begins to tilt the end is near! When the ankle doesn’t move properly the knee is affected. Once the knee is affected, you guessed it, the hip also begins to suffer.

The ankle up the chain:

The inability to perform a proper stride forces the body to find different ways to complete the movement. Compensation pattern do not eliminate the load experienced when hitting the ground during running; they simply shift it to other parts of the body which can lead to pain elsewhere.

Knee pain

The human body is a kinetic chain, if the knee tracks properly over the ankle there should be limited wear and tear on the knee. What happens at one joint will have an effect at another joint. The joints not sitting properly and the lack of ankle dorsiflexion when running or walking can lead to an early bending in the knee, which in turn can disrupt the whole efficiency of stride pattern.

Hip/lower back pain

Reduced dorsiflexion can increase the duration of time in which the heel is off the ground. The result… a decrease in hip extension, not allowing the person to complete a a full stride through the hip, knee and ankle. It may limit glute activation and create the feeling of tight hamstrings and in turn develop an anterior pelvic tilt.

Stay tuned, the next few weeks, we will focus in on the signs of ankle dysfunction and and how to fix the problem to increase performance in life, sports and performance.

Training Aspects’ personal trainers and sports performance coaches want you to accomplish your goals. You, as the personal training client, are a reflection of our personal training and group training methods! We are here to help you accomplish all of your personal training goals! Our main training focus are people looking to increase performance, lose weight , lose body fat and increase lean muscle. Whether you live in Cherry Hill, Haddonfield,Marlton, or any of the other surrounding areas we are here to help you Move, Look and feel as you’ve always desired…

Top 3 Things to Make Your Sports Season a Success

Athletes want to get compete on the highest level, get stronger and dominant their sport, doing whatever it takes. Great mentality to have for the majority of the year. During the offseason, training can be at it’s highest intensity, your body will be able to recover properly in your down time. In season, that’s another story! Practices and games and the “on the go mentality” increases stress on the body. Active recovery and proper nutrition needs to be a focus during the season. Here are the top 3 ways to get you there.

Sports Success Tip 1: Adjust Your Training intensity

Decrease your training volume! During the offseason many athletes are working out 5-6 times a week. This is usually the right balance between getting in as much performance work as possible, while still allowing your body to recover. Once the season starts with increased practices and game days you’re going to need to scale back on the amount of training you’re doing. Some different ways to adjust your training load can be to lower the intensity, limit heavy weights, reduce number of training days and increase recovery methods. Focus on bodyweight mobility and strength.

Sports Success Tip 2: Increase Recovery Methods

Keeping your body fresh is most important! This is the time your body needs to be performing at its peak. The last thing you want is to go out on the ice or field and feel tight, sluggish, and under perform. Consistently going out to play with tight muscles and your body moving in-efficiently can lead to potential injures that will bring your season to a halt. No matter how talented you are, if you are on the sidelines, it doesn’t matter. Increasing muscle releasing, stretching and mobilizing combined with efficient body movement training can greatly improve performance and reduce injury risk.

Sports Season Success Tip 3: Pre and Post Game Nutrition

Athletes have a Go-Go-Go mindset, Plan your food and drink! Food and water is the same as fuel for a car. If you have a Ferrari you can’t put regular gas in it. As an athlete you are a Ferrari. Away game trips do not give you an excuse to eat poorly. So make sure you make eating and hydration a priority. Carbs are your friend, give the body easy energy for the athlete. An in game electrolyte drink such Accelerade or bodyarmour can be beneficial in aiding endurance sports lasting over 1 hour 1/2 – 2 hours. Plenty of water, about 12-16 fl.oz per hour pre game. During the game have a mix between water an electrolyte carb drink. Post game drink 12-16 Fl.oz per pound lost, as well as, a protein, sugar, electrolyte combination to replenish lost fluids and nutrients and begin the rebuilding process. Then a meal an hour later.

Incorporate these 3 things into your in-season training and see a huge spike in your performance.

Training Aspects’ personal trainers and sports performance coaches want you to accomplish your goals. You, as the personal training client, are a reflection of our personal training and group training methods! We are here to help you accomplish all of your personal training goals! Our main training focus are people looking to increase performance, lose weight , lose body fat and increase lean muscle. Whether you live in Cherry Hill, Haddonfield,Marlton, or any of the other surrounding areas we are here to help you Move, Look and feel as you’ve always desired…

Visit us: The Ritz Plaza

910 Haddonfield-Berlin rd.

Voorhees, NJ 08043

http://trainingaspects.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/TA-Logo-White-Background-larger-min-300x120.png00Alex Garashchenkohttp://trainingaspects.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/TA-Logo-White-Background-larger-min-300x120.pngAlex Garashchenko2017-09-22 11:08:302017-12-21 09:02:593 Things to Make Your Sports Season a Success

3 Tips to succeed on a “diet”

If it isn’t the new fitness craze it’s usually a new diet that cures all and is the ultimate weight loss, toner. The various diets marketed: Atkins, intermittent fasting, carb cycling, weight watchers, keto, southbeach and the numerous others that hit the main stream. There are some that get results others a horror story.

Nutrition, for many, creates a challenge. The food that is often available is “junk food” fast food chains, as well as many pop in food restaurants. Food is also used for celebration, meetings, bordem, and it brings people together! Papa John’s pizza pays millions to be the NFL’s pizza sponsor. If a house has a football game on, there is a good chance Pizza, wings and coke are also being indulged. Food, events and having the right people creates the ultimate source of pleasure. The personal stories shared and the bonds that are created at these gatherings, overtime, create that involuntary positive response, classical conditioning. This happens with many situation, though they may be different, the habit created becomes the greatest obstacle.

The ANSWER!?… Change the behavior or get a hypnotist… could work! For the article’s sake, we’ll assume you’re doing it yourself. Here are 3 ways to succeed!

Nutrition Tip 1: It’s a marathon not a sprint

Choose a diet which fits your lifestyle not just for the moment, because you have a goal that’s a few weeks away, but a diet that can be adopted as a lifestyle.

Nutrition Tip 2 : Stop saying you’re on a diet

Everyone has done it, sat at a Thanksgiving meal ate the veggies and some of the turkey breast. Someone yells across the table “you have to try the stuffing”… “I’m on a diet I can’t eat that”. You create two specific problems. First, you become a target. Someone at the table is going to continue to insist you have some. “It’s ok it’s a holiday you can have a cheat meal” now you test your will and continue to fight back and though some may commend you… WHY?! just say “it looks great but I honestly don’t want any right now.” Without realizing it, when you answer “I’m on a diet” you reinforced to everyone but more importantly yourself, that instead of a lifestyle change this is just a temporary habit. Which leads into the second problem, don’t create a situation for yourself that makes you want to push the “red button”. You know, when you tell a kid don’t push that button? curiosity kills them! they push it. Maybe you don’t give in that time, but you’re creating an obstacle for yourself where there doesn’t need to be one. Don’t be your own worst enemy… “Thank you for the offer, it looks great! Honestly, I’m full”… try it!

Nutrition Tip 3:Plan your food

As you’re reading this you’re probably making a face. We plan our whole lives, activities, Dr. appointments, Kids soccer games, friends spelling bees, you name it it’s in a schedule. As big of a challenge as food is, it needs to be Scheduled! Set up a day to prep your food for the week. Then Make appointments for yourself to make sure you’ll eat it at the appropriate time. Even the busiest person can find time to sneak in a healthy meal, they just may not realize it. The meal is made by you and has everything you need to succeed, minus all the extra stuff. Don’t leave your food to chance, first time you get busy you will stop for the quickest food choice, and as discussed earlier, it’s usually not the greatest option.

Creating a habit with intent is the difference between having success on a “diet” and having a horror story experience. Reflect on the poor nutritional habits you have created and find solutions to combat them. The three in this article are a great place to start.

Training Aspects’ personal trainers and sports performance coaches want you to accomplish your goals. You, as the personal training client, are a reflection of our personal training and group training methods! We are here to help you accomplish all of your personal training goals! Our main training focus are people looking to increase performance, lose weight , lose body fat and increase lean muscle. Whether you live in Cherry Hill, Haddonfield,Marlton, or any of the other surrounding areas we are here to help you Move, Look and feel as you’ve always desired…

Workout of the Week: Kettlebell Flow

Looking for a new workout to pump up your sports performance? Give this non-stop high intensity kettlebell flow a try. Perform 5-10 reps of each exercise non-stop. Then jump into five 20 yard sprints. Repeat for 5 total rounds. This combination will really tax your breathing and muscular endurance prepping you for game-time situations.

Training Aspects’ personal trainers and sports performance coaches want you to accomplish your goals. You, as the personal training client, are a reflection of our personal training and group training methods! We are here to help you accomplish all of your personal training goals! Our main training focus are people looking to increase performance, lose weight , lose body fat and increase lean muscle. Whether you live in Cherry Hill, Haddonfield,Marlton, or any of the other surrounding areas we are here to help you Move, Look and feel as you’ve always desired…

Coconut water quality, what to look for

The question of Coconut water versus sports drink was discussed in our last article. Though Coconut water did not come out victorious in the electrolyte battle, it is still one of the best choices for general fluid needs, over juices, sodas and sports drinks. Coconut water isn’t cheap, here are 4 things to keep an eye out for to make sure you’re getting the greatest value for your body and your wallet.

1. Pasteurizing coconut water with heat:

Coconut water is naturally perishable. It must be kept cold. To extend shelf life, many companies use high heat to kill bacteria and extend shelf life.Killing bacteria may be a plus, but it also loses it vitamins minerals, enzymes and if those don’t bother you, it’s flavor! If coconut water is from concentrate, the heat process is performed twice.

2. Adopting water from mature coconuts:

The value of the coconut come from the young green coconuts. The older the coconut the less nutrients are in the water and the more is in the pulp of the coconut. Mature coconuts are better for making coconut milk,

3. Adding preservatives to flavor and sweeten coconut water:

Usually the first sign of a mature coconut being used and an acidic taste being given off. To mask the taste, companies add “natural flavors” or sweeteners.

4. Dipping coconuts in chemicals for transport:

When shipping the coconuts into the US, companies will worry of coconut preservation. non-organic coconuts are usually preserved for transport. To preserve them, the coconuts are dipped in known carcinogens – formaldehyde or sodium metabisulphite. If the chemical seeps through, it’ll poison the coconut and you guessed it transfer into your delicious coconut water.
Coconut water is delicious, nutritious, refreshing but also expensive. If you’re spending 2 to 3 dollars per 12oz make sure you’re getting the most nutrient value for your money. Stay tuned for companies to look for and stay away from in the coconut world.

Training Aspects’ personal trainers and sports performance coaches want you to accomplish your goals. You, as the personal training client, are a reflection of our personal training and group training methods! We are here to help you accomplish all of your personal training goals! Our main training focus are people looking to increase performance, lose weight , lose body fat and increase lean muscle. Whether you live in Cherry Hill, Haddonfield,Marlton, or any of the other surrounding areas we are here to help you Move, Look and feel as you’ve always desired…

http://trainingaspects.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/coco-water-girl.jpg542468Training Aspectshttp://trainingaspects.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/TA-Logo-White-Background-larger-min-300x120.pngTraining Aspects2017-08-23 15:15:032017-10-02 13:30:59What to look for in your Coconut water

Coconut Water, Better than Gatorade…

The natural way is the best way! One great product that has been brought into the food market is coconut water. Coconut water, however, is not new. It has been a favorite time for the few that live Among it. Luckily, it is now readily available in the US. One of the benefits of coconut water is it’s natural ability to replenish our electrolyte needs. Can coconut water be the solution over gatorade when electrolyte levels are low?

The food industry, just as any other business, look to minimize cost and increase profit. Often, Food coloring, preservatives, added sugars/flavors, unhealthy transport practices, get mixed into the hype of a product. Then what may have been a great product often becomes obsolete because higher quality processes are more expensive. That’s capitalism!

Coconut water, not to be confused with coconut milk, comes from young, green coconuts, a natural source of electrolytes including sodium and potassium. Eight ounces of coconut water 250 mg of sodium, 600 mg of potassium, the electrolyte content would be a great replacement not to mention it also has other vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and amino acids. Coconut water would be a great replacement for gatorade.

Great news! A drink that quenches your thirst, has lower sugar and is natural! Well…small problem. The coconut water that’s sold in the US has a similar potassium serving but the sodium is too low too truly replenish electrolyte stores. Vita coco, a popular coconut water brand, though advertised as pure coconut water, only has 29 grams of sodium to the usual 250 of true coconut water.

Best of the US Coconut water

The natural choice is always my choice, however, in this case the natural is actually a fake. Truly natural coconut water would be a great replacement, but due to the ingredients, additives, process of creation, the coconut water sold in the US would not be a better choice over a Gatorade , in regards to hydration.

Training Aspects’ personal trainers and sports performance coaches want you to accomplish your goals. You, as the personal training client, are a reflection of our personal training and group training methods! We are here to help you accomplish all of your personal training goals! Our main training focus are people looking to increase performance, lose weight , lose body fat and increase lean muscle. Whether you live in Cherry Hill, Haddonfield,Marlton, or any of the other surrounding areas we are here to help you Move, Look and feel as you’ve always desired…

BCAAs magical supplement or a marketing gimmick

Buying supplements and integrating them into your training program can be confusing and if not done right costly. With no true regulation of the products in the industry, it can be hard to look past the marketing. BCAA’s are often a simple addition to any training program. There are 20 amino acids, 9 are essential and of those 9, 3 are BCAA’s. Leucine, Isoleucine, Valine. It accounts for about 35% of muscle protein. Magical supplement or marketing gimmick … here are the pros and cons.

BCAA Pros

BCAAs are know to help in muscle mass gain. Leucine has been widely researched and has been found to stimulate protein synthesis. When combined with weight training, the two activate the muscle building pathway called mTORC1. Besides its ability to build, it also has the ability to increase the cell’s capacity for protein synthesis.

Extra Energy! Don’t like using stimulants, BCAAs may be your solution. Besides aiding ATP use, Isoleucine is responsible for facilitating glucose uptake in cells, allowing for a quicker glycogen restoration and leucine is known for facilitating fat metabolism. BCAAs have been found to inhibit the onset of both central and peripheral fatigue during exercise, so you can go stronger for longer. BCAAs are used as an additional energy source during prolonged exercise. Even after your body has used its glycogen stores, you can pull power from BCAAs in your muscles.

Hold off muscle breakdown. Vegetarians, stand up. The Leucine amino acid, is very important in protein synthesis.If you are unable to get enough protein, adding BCAAs will help keep your body in an anabolic state or at least help keep you from a catabolic state.

BCAA Cons

Sleeping problems. If you have trouble sleeping, you may want to think twice. BCAAs compete with tryptophan, you know the Thanksgiving sleep aid. However, there are some sources that say otherwise so test it for yourself.

Vitamin B depletion. BCAAs need the presence of Vitamin B. That in mind, getting a quality Vitamin B (B6 is usually mentioned) supplement may help. Eating food that has a nice serving of B6 is also helpful, Turkey breast, grass fed beef, chicken, tuna, avocados, pistachios are all great sources.

Do we need BCAAs

BCAA are just three essential amino acids. Technically, any time a complete protein is being ingested, That is a serving of BCAAs. The people who benefit most from BCAAs are those who are on restrictive diets or vegetarians, workout in the morning but are unable to eat prior to.

BCAAs can be very effective and helpful but in specific situations. Though the use of BCAAs won’t hurt you (in most cases) it shouldn’t be on the list of supplements needed if money is an issue.

Training Aspects’ personal trainers and sports performance coaches want you to accomplish your goals. You, as the personal training client, are a reflection of our personal training and group training methods! We are here to help you accomplish all of your personal training goals! Our main training focus are people looking to increase performance, lose weight , lose body fat and increase lean muscle. Whether you live in Cherry Hill, Haddonfield,Marlton, or any of the other surrounding areas we are here to help you Move, Look and feel as you’ve always desired…